Pregnancy

Top Rules for Safe Workouts During Pregnancy

Exercise has many benefits, however during pregnancy you must be extra cautious. Whether you exercise regularly or you are just looking to continue your normal exercise regimen, you need to follow certain rules for safe workouts during pregnancy. Exercising during pregnancy keeps you active throughout the day. A safe workout will keep you and your baby healthy. Read onto understand some of the important rules for safe workouts during pregnancy.

Pregnancy and Safe Exercising – What are the Rules?

Here some of the important rules for exercising:

Check with Your Doctor

If you were exercising regularly before getting pregnant, then you might not have any problem. You can continue to work as usual, but do consult your doctor before exercising. There are certain cases where your doctor or midwife can ask you not to exercise during pregnancy. If you are a person who is starting from scratch, i.e. as a non-exerciser, then talk to your doctor to make sure that your activities do not harm the baby or put your baby at risk.

Take in Extra Calories

If you have consulted your doctor and started to exercise, then make sure you get an additional 300 to 500 additional calories daily. You must eat well as it helps to nourish you and the baby as well. Exercising can sap your energy and so be sure to eat extra to strengthen your body.

Avoid Dangerous Sports

Do not indulge in contact sports and activities like these.Activities like biking or horse riding can put you and your baby at risk for injuries. Even if your body is strong and normal, keep in mind that your body produces large quantities of a hormone called relaxin. This hormone relaxes the pelvic joints and prepares you for childbirth by loosening all the joints and ligaments. This makes you more susceptible to injury and sprains from falls.

Warm up

A warm-up exercise prepares your joints and muscles and increases your heart rate slowly. If you skip the warm-up exercises, and start strenuous activity before your body is ready, then you could strain your ligaments and muscles. This increases the pains and aches, which you experience after exercising.

Do not get Overheated

Do not let yourself get too hot, especially in the first trimester, when the major organs of the baby are developing. There are no proper studies to prove that overheating can be dangerous to humans. Some studies have stated that overheating could cause birth defects.When you exercise, there is an increased blood flow and the metabolic rate also increases. This makes you warmer than usual. Since feeling warm is very common during pregnancy, you may easily get overheated faster than you normally would. Some of the signs are dizziness, shortness of breath, extreme warmth and on humid or hot days, you can skip your exercise or the workout. Another option is to exercise indoors in an air-conditioned room or a well-ventilated room. Hydrating is another key factor while exercising and coolingyourself quickly by a cool shower.

Get up From the Floor Slowly

As the uterus grows, your belly also grows. This shifts the center of gravity. This is one reason why it is important to change your position frequently. Getting up too quickly can make you feel dizzy. This can make you fall and may produce injuries. So, when you get up from the floor after a workout, do so slowly.

Cool Down

After a workout, you need to do some stretching. This is done because after exercising, there is a rapid increase in the heart rate. It takes at least 15 minutes for the heart rate to come back to the normal rate, following a workout. This is one reason why you are advised to cool down after exercising.

Make it a habit

You need to be committed to exercising regularly on a particular schedule. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists have stated that you can exercise for 30 minutes or more. However, you need to consult your health care provider before taking up any longer workouts.

These are some of the

top rules for safe workouts during pregnancy.

I hope that you would keep these points in mind and work on them, to have a healthy and happy pregnancy.